The present invention relates to the field of photogrammetry, and, more particularly, to a method for automatically generating a three-dimensional video imagery photographic database.
An image generation system such as the Computer Generated Synthesized Imagery (CGSI) system requires a video imagery database in order to generate realtime perspective images for use in simulators such as simulated flight trainers. Heretofore, such video imagery databases have been generated by taking downlooking aerial photographs, developing the film, assembling and registering the photographs into a mosaic pattern encompassing the terrain of interest, digitizing the photographs, performing radiometric balancing, and performing orthorectification by registering the photographs to elevation data such as that provided by the Defense Mapping Agency.
Unfortunately, photographic visual databases require a large expenditure of time and money. Also, photographic data is typically not up-to-date. Frequently, no elevation data exists for the terrain of interest, no photography of the area exists, and no stereo pair imagery exists.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a method for automatically generating a three-dimensional photographic database that requires less manual intervention, that can be completed in a shorter time, that does not require film processing nor film digitization, and that allows databases to be generated of areas for which no elevation data, photography or stereo pair imagery exists.